Rockford man, 21, killed in fatal Cherry Valley crash

CHERRY VALLEY — Authorities have identified a Rockford man killed in a fatal crash about 1 a.m. Monday morning at the intersection of Harrison Avenue and Perryville Road.

Jonathan R. Brooks, 21, was transported after the crash to the Neuro Intensive Care Unit at OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 7:52 a.m., Winnebago County Coroner Sue Fiduccia said in a news release.

Cherry Valley Police Department officers are investigating the crash.

Brooks was driving a 2005 Chevrolet Impala east on Harrison Avenue when his vehicle slammed into the trailer of a semi-tractor truck. Police believe the truck had just begun pulling into the intersection at Perryville for a green stoplight when it was struck from the rear, Cherry Valley Police Chief Larry Neville said.

A detailed crash reconstruction could take several days to complete that would help determine precisely what happened as the crash remains under investigation, Neville said. Police are also looking to discover where Brooks was going and where he was coming from when the crash occurred.

“We are still trying to piece it all together and figure out what exactly happened,” Neville said.

Hospital testing indicated that Brooks was intoxicated at the time of the crash. Emergency room doctors told officials that Brooks died of injuries suffered in the crash despite wearing a seat belt.